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Understanding and Addressing Digital Dating Abuse

Relationship violence is still a common problem for young people today and while professionals may be familiar with common forms of power and control including verbal, emotional, and physical abuse, many adults are less familiar with the ways technology and social media can be used as tools of power and control in dating situations. This training will start by exploring the most common ways that technology and social media can be used in abusive situations and end with practical strategies that supportive adults can use to identify warning signs of digital dating abuse and have critical conversations with both survivors and perpetrators.

Learning Objectives

As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define digital dating abuse and how it connects to larger systems of power and control 

• Understand how digital dating abuse shows up on different social media platforms and how it may impact young people’s mental health 

• Identify how digital dating abuse can look different for youth depending on their identities 

• Apply strategies to open up conversations about digital dating abuse and be able to identify and support youth who are coping with or perpetrating it